TXsailor

This followed me home. My wife just rolled her eyes and said "It only has one speed"

shoota 

Dang, that's an early Salsa. I don't know much of anything about those, but there are plenty of Salsa fans out there that surely will.

unworthy1

Interesting bike but I have doubts there's anything "real Salsa" about it except for the head badge and brake arch. I don't think Ross Shafer ever used that style chainstay-to-BB or the pinch bolt thru the seat stays like that (much more common is the slot and pinch bolt to the FRONT of the seat tube top, plus often a Hite Rite spring was attached at rear). Any serial number on this frame? Interested to read what others will observe...

Bianchigirll 

I know nothing about the bikes but something about just looked middle of the road or lower to me, maybe it is the faded paint from the Texas sun but. I thought it looked a Fisherish? But those were lugged before the 1 1/4" HS yes?

TXsailor

Heres the SN I am wondering too if its even a Salsa. Please don't tell me I over paid. I can't get my $5 back if it's a counterfeit. Just from picking it up I can about guarantee its not any kind of premium tubing Its pretty heavy.

ryansu

I think those pedals are probably worth the $5

francophile 

It has a spicy repaint?

TXsailor

francophile 

NEW YORK CITY?! .... That really chaps my hiiiiide.

unworthy1

Maybe @T-Mar can cast an eye on those serial numbers on your BB shell, but my uniformed guess would be maybe a Schwinn or perhaps a Univega. In any case with those pedals and Raceface crankset you've tripled your $5 investment, oh and the shorty stem is also a Salsa but on a stem extension, maybe?

TenGrainBread 

unworthy1 The bottom bracket appears to be MIG-welded, which is a pretty typical feature of entry/mid-level Giant-manufactured ATBs from the mid-80s to early 90s.

madpogue 

This looks like it was built to be a single; I see no accomodations for shift cables. 'Course, it's possible the frame had the associated braze-ons removed, if it's a repaint.

I would pull the fork and look for identifying info on the steerer tube, if any.

TXsailor

I'm not familiar with these V-brakes or levers either. Are they someway better than the average mtb brakes?

TenGrainBread 

The levers are Shimano Servo-Wave levers, meaning they have a mechanism by which the the braking modulation can be adjusted from low to high. The mechanism inside is designed to make it so mechanical advantage is increased as the lever goes through its travel, the idea being that it takes very little lever movement to get the pads to the rims at first, and then as the lever is pulled further, pad movement lessens and mechanical advantage is increased to boost braking power. https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/techn...ve-action.html

The V-brakes are Deore LX M570 v-brakes from the early/mid-2000s. They use a parallelogram design that Shimano used on some of its V-brake offerings. Basically it keeps the angle of the brake pad consistent through the travel of the brake arm by pivoting it. There's probably some functional advantage to this and the brake pads wear more evenly, but it makes disassembly and reassembly of these brakes somewhat annoying.

TXsailor

I'll pull the fork and see if it has any markings when I get a little spare time.

T-Mar

TenGrainbread is correct, it's a Giant manufactured frame. Specifically, July 1984. Though I have no records of Giant having contract manufactured for Salsa, the brand does date back to 1981, so I can't rule it out. However, it does pre-date Giant's entry into the USA market with their eponymous brand, so it is a contract manufacture or a foreign market model. In the mid-1980s the two most popular USA market brands that Giant was building were Schwinn and Nishiki.

TXsailor

So its a GIANT Salsa kinda like a Grande Taco or one if those huge margaritas. I think I'll take a sharpie and mark Not A by the head badge

madpogue 

^^^^^^ (or just a question mark on either side of the Salsa, first one upside down....)
@T-Mar, do you know offhand if that frame would have been built originally with single-speed (no shift cable braze-ons) in mind?

tricky 

If you're concerned about making your money back, I'll give you $10 for that crankset, stem, and brakes. I am even going to be in Texas later this month.

TXsailor

That's not a big concern right now unless she starts putting my junk on the doorstep. It's good to know I won't loose my big investment though.

T-Mar

I can't provide a definitive answer but a single speed ATB in mid-1984 seems unlikely. I'm more inclined to say the fittings and derailleur hanger were drewed. In 1984, it would have been fitted with cantilever brakes that would have required a cable stop. This was typically provided by a brazed-on bridge, as opposed to a hanger that bolted to the cinch ears, especially when a QR skewer was used. If I was the owner I'd be closely examining the areas where you would normally find a brazed-on fitting for signs of removal. Normally, removal wouldn't be so perfect as not to leave a slightly raised remnant or slight depression from inadequate or excessive grinding/filing. Of course, stripping the paint would also expose brazing material in this areas, if there had been fittings.

The frame characteristics do look very similar to the 1984 Nishiki Cascade and Schwinn Sierra/High Sierra. All had lugless construction, road style top tube cable tunnels. fast back stays that attached to the cinch ears, the same style fork crown and forged horizontal dropouts. Of course, that could mean that it was just one of Giant's standard frame designs.

Removing the fork might help to narrow down things a bit. I'd expect a Schwinn to show signs of rivet holes for mounting the head badge, while the Nishiki used a decal. I'm not sure about Salsa from the era.

TXsailor

So it's looking to me like it's probably a frankenbike that was done by someone that did pretty nice work since the components are pretty decent and seem to fit and work well. It's at one time been rode a lot since the brakes are worn very badly. I guessing that it was then put away in a shed or barn for years since its pretty dirty but not overly rusty. The grips were a sticky mess that peeled off like the skin on a banana. I think I'll clean it up when I get time put some brakes & grips on it and go from there. Right now I have two other projects that are in front of it. I am working on a Ironman for my daughter and a Schwinn racer to tool around town on. I'll look for signs of cable stops and check the fork when I get a chance but I'm not going to lose much sleep not knowing what it really is.

T-Mar

Oh, it's definitely a frankenbike. Neither V-brakes nor Race Face existed in 1984.

unworthy1

Thanks go to @T-Mar for his usual wealth of knowledge and to @TenGrainBread for reinforcing the ID!

TXsailor

Thanks to all the BF folks that know so much about old bikes. It makes it a lot more fun to find these old gems when you can find out something about them, even though we might not be too happy when our gem turns into a lump of coal.